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Go Home What Is The Greatest Movie Ending Of All Time?

THE PLANK JULY 11, 2008

What Is The Greatest Movie Ending Of All Time?

BY ISAAC CHOTINER

That is the question asked--and answered--by the London Times, which has produced a Top 20 for readers to debate. And the list is pretty good! 

20-16: Seven--Blair Witch--Memento--Planet of the Apes (original)--Shawshank Redemption

15-11: Gone With the Wind--Dr. Strangelove--Les Diaboliques--Wizard of Oz--Thelma & Louise

10-6: Sixth Sense--Usual Suspects--Italian Job (original)--Some Like it Hot--Breakfast at Tiffany's

5.Chinatown

4. E.T.

3. Casablanca

2. Butch Cassidy

1. Carrie 

The ending of Carrie is awfully scary the first time you see it, but does not resonate much beyond the initial fright. And Butch Cassidy at #2 is a stretch. Like Thelma and Louise at #11, it is certainly memorable and iconic, but on repeat viewing, neither movie holds up very well, and both conclusions appear trite and even cheesy. Casablanca is an obvious choice, but no less correct for that; the same is true of Chinatown, which should probably be in the #1 spot.

The rest of the picks are strong, especially Sixth Sense, Usual Suspects, Les Diaboliques, Shawshank, and the eternally underrated (or at least underviewed) Memento, the last ten seconds of which manage to give the whole film another layer and get your heart racing.

Still, where is It's A Wonderful Life? And what about both Godfather movies, particularly the second one (is there a more underrappreciated scene in film than the brilliant flashback coda)? Silence of the Lambs and The French Connection perhaps deserve a mention, as do To Kill a Mockingbird, The Searchers, White Heat and High Noon. But what do readers think?

Update: See Alex Massie for more. 

--Isaac Chotiner 

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

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121 comments

"It's a Wonderful Life," by two and a half lengths over "Shawshank." Just thinking about either of them more than a second and I puddle up, guaranteed.

(Not that close, really; IAWL's jockey eased up at the finish, not wishing to unnecessarily tire his steed.)

I have "Strangelove" over "The Natural" by a nose for show, but I could be wrong.

"E.T." scratched, by the way, so instead the stable entered "The Sting," who ran well, it turns out.

- williamyard

July 11, 2008 at 3:48pm

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I should qualify all that follows by admitting I haven't seen a lot of these movies. But that won't stop me from throwing in my two cents.

Chinatown certainly deserves to be up there, along with the Sixth Sense and probably Shawshank, despite the Cheesiness Factor. Planet of the Apes should be much higher, definitely the top 3.

I agree with Isaac that It's A Wonderful Life should be up there (desspite the Cheesiness Factor). And while we're talking about old-school movies, what about Inherit The Wind? Or Twelve Angry Men?

- ZACummings

July 11, 2008 at 3:58pm

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Without a doubt, best movie ending is to "The Rapture" staring Mimi Rodgers.  The entire theater walked out in stunned silence (though it was only half-filled).

- Lymon1

July 11, 2008 at 4:01pm

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Remember, this is for greatest movie *ending*, not for greatest movie.  In other words, the ending has to surprise, or leave an indelible memory, or some such, not merely sum up the movie or tie up loose ends, etc.

As such, I don't think It's a Wonderful Life quallfies.  There are far more memorable moments within the movie itself, and the ending serves to sum up and deliver the message that we knew was coming.  I would say the same for Butch Cassidy and even E.T.  If anything, Close Encounters or even 2001 are more appropriate for sci-fi endings.

I agree that Sixth Sense, Usual Suspects, Les Diaboliques, Shawshank, and  particularly the brilliant Memento belong on the list.  But I hated Seven, which belongs on no list of best anything, anywhere.

- timteeter

July 11, 2008 at 4:06pm

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off the top of my head: Mulholland Drive

- newdex

July 11, 2008 at 4:08pm

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Not a surprise, but I loved the ending of Splendor in the Grass, with the final shot of natalie wood in the car.

- japepper

July 11, 2008 at 4:08pm

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For about a decade, I thought "The Natural" ended with Roy's dying vision of heaven. I loved that ending. The real ending, where he lives happily ever after back on the farm with Glenn Close and his son? Not so much.

In addition to yard's list, I would add these candidates for best ending:

"Unforgiven", "The Red Violin", "Shane", "The Verdict", "The Bridge on the River Kwai", and "Roman Holiday".

- rhubarbs

July 11, 2008 at 4:13pm

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the ending of seven samurai, which both summarizes just what everyone was fighting for and shows how terrible it is for those doing the fighting. especially in contrast with the final battle scene, one of the most brutal and least noble battle scenes around.

- perkowitz

July 11, 2008 at 4:13pm

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sorry to go all arty about this, but the freeze-frame close-up ending of The 400 Blows has to be considered, as well as George Sluizer's The Vanishing (original Dutch version - not the bad American remake - with the awful ending).  

- buddhabop

July 11, 2008 at 4:14pm

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What about Reservoir Dogs? All the living characters shoot each other except for Mr. Pink, who takes the money and runs.

- propositionjoe

July 11, 2008 at 4:16pm

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Maybe this doesn't qualify as a "best" ending, since it wasn't shocking or revelatory, but I always thought the ending of "Network" was about as perfect an ending as could possibly be.

- Brent

July 11, 2008 at 4:17pm

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I know that probably nobody else will agree with me, but I love (with a deep-down, warm in my soul love) the ending of "American Beauty."

And I agree with whoever commented on "seven."  It doesn't belong on any laudatory lists of any kind.

- drdannyu

July 11, 2008 at 4:19pm

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I can't decide between "Slacker" or "Man Bites Dog"...

- hellx

July 11, 2008 at 4:19pm

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Oh, and I also totally agree about the ending of "Roman Holiday."  

- drdannyu

July 11, 2008 at 4:20pm

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How could a British newspaper not mention THE THIRD MAN? Or, for that matter, CITIZEN f$%&ing KANE????!!!!

- primwallflow

July 11, 2008 at 4:23pm

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I had the ending for the Sixth Sense ruined by my freshman year Psych professor.  Still a great movie, but I always wondered what it would have been like to see it without knowing the ending..  I guess some of it depends on how broadly you want to define "ending."  I thought the closing scenes of Amadeus were absolutely fantastic.  Godfather 1 definitely belongs on there somewhere, but the second one probably wouldn't make my list..  My number one spot would probably go to Memento.  I've heard a lot of people that say it's too gimmicky, but I just thought it was brilliantly done (plus, it has probably the most scientifically accurate depiction of amnesia in film)..

- AlanSP

July 11, 2008 at 4:26pm

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"Memento" definitely has my vote for #1 of all time; I am with Rhubs on "Unforgiven", and perkowitz on "The Seven Samurai". I will toss my hat into the ring for "Sixth Sense" and "Shawshank" as well.

- GSpinks

July 11, 2008 at 4:27pm

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I drink your milkshake.

- Androscoggin

July 11, 2008 at 4:28pm

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Also I agree about Bridge on the River Kwai.

- AlanSP

July 11, 2008 at 4:30pm

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Oh, and I would also add Bridge on the River Kwai to that list.

- primwallflow

July 11, 2008 at 4:31pm

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Citizen Kane (and the Raiders of the Lost Arc shout-out to it), Godfather I and II, The Stranger's closing monologue in "The Big Lebowski," and -- as Chris Orr wrote a few weeks ago -- Monsters, Inc.

- chrispkenny

July 11, 2008 at 4:34pm

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Yeah I'm surprised The Third Man wasn't mentioned. But the best final scene ever is in the best movie ever, which is Nashville.

- therealthing

July 11, 2008 at 4:37pm

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I think the ruminations of Tommy Lee Jones at the end of "No Country For Old Men" is brilliant.   Also, while it wouldn't make the list because it wasn't shocking or indelible, I love love love the last shot of "Magnolia", when the John C. Reilly character was talking to Jimmie Gator's daughter about how he was going to protect her and be there for her and all that, and you could barely hear him over the Aimee Mann song, and then out of nowhere she looked at the camera and smiled and then it went to black- the slightest, most unexpected bit of hope in a bleak film.  It wasn't great like Sixth Sense or Seven Samurai, but it was wierdly thrilling.  

- boneill

July 11, 2008 at 4:40pm

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I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

City Lights

Vertigo

Night of the Living Dead (incl. the credits)

Once upon a Time in the West

- cleavet

July 11, 2008 at 4:40pm

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I always thought 2001: A Space Odyssey had a pretty shocking ending.

- zacwbond

July 11, 2008 at 4:40pm

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The ending of Kurosawa's Ran -- the entire final act, but especially the last 5 or 10 minutes--is one of the most stunning indictments of humanity ever committed to ANY medium, and certainly to film. Those last few violent moments, and the final image of Tsurumaru standing on the ruins of his family's castle - no family, no home, no eyesight, no hope, with God LITERALLY falling out of his grasp and beyond reach...almost unbearable to watch. It's a stab in the heart every time I see it. It's not the funniest or most thrilling or surprising or triumphant ending, but it is just about the TRUEST ending I have ever seen. A beautiful and terrible ending to a nearly perfect work of art.  

- sullydog

July 11, 2008 at 4:45pm

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Yeah, prima, where is Citizen Kane? Horrible, dull movie, but brilliant ending.

- ZACummings

July 11, 2008 at 4:45pm

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perkowitz is onto something with the Seven Samurai. A great movie with a great ending.

- nlaverty4

July 11, 2008 at 4:51pm

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Mulholland Drive -- that's a great ending, newdex.

I also agree that Butch Cassidy at #2 is a stretch.  I mean, come ON.  If that fits the definition of a great ending according to the Times, then THE WILD BUNCH would be a much better choice.

And on the subject of westerns, I think the end of THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY deserves to be on this list... Tucco in the cemetary, the grave next to Arch Stanton, the shootout, Blondie leaving the gold for Tucco... I suppose nothing "Sixth Sense"-twist-like is revealed, but Sergio Leone (and more literally, Ennio Morricone) stretch the dramatic and musical note almost to the point of implausibility -- and damn, it's as close to perfect an ending I've seen.

And what?! No Hitchcock on this list?  PSYCHO?  VERTIGO?  Come ON!

Other thoughts off the top of my head (WARNING: SPOILERS, if you haven't seen these):

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, either the 1956 or 1978 version.  Either one is, to me, far more terrifying than CARRIE's simplistic shock-shot.  In the original version, the studio tacked on a scene at the end to water down the impact, but I usually ignore that when I watch it.  But Donald Sutherland's last shot in the '78 version, creepy as hell.

STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.  How is the revelation that Darth Vader is Luke's father, not on this list?

DOUBLE INDEMNITY, where Fred McMurray's character is revealed to be actually leaving a message in the dictaphone to Edward G. Robinson, almost a "love note" to his father-like mentor.  The conclusion is almost a Shakespearean tragedy: a man undone by his own failures, his own choices.

UNFORGIVEN, where William Munny reverts to the "wicked" behavior that he shunned throughout the film.  "You better bury Ned right! Better not go cuttin' up, nor otherwise harm no whores. Or I'll come back and kill every one of you sons-o-bitches."

OCEAN'S 11: Just how they get away with the loot was entertaining and amusing as hell.

FIGHT CLUB: If The Usual Suspects is on this list, fine then.  And I did love that movie.  But the ending of Fight Club was actually more interesting, to me at least, in terms of revealing something that was hidden in plain sight throughout the film.

ROMAN HOLIDAY: Yeah, it probably doesn't belong on the list. But I just want to give the film credit for taking things the the opposite direction than most filmmakers would in today's cliche Romantic Comedy Film Factory.  If it were made today, Gregory and Audrey would've wound up in each others' arms.

THE THIRD MAN:  Probably my own preference, but that chase scene through the tunnels of Vienna was perfectly shot, and compelling.

I'm not saying all of these have "better" endings than the Times' list.  But I think at least a third of them do...

- prendergast

July 11, 2008 at 5:00pm

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Sid and Nancy had a memorable and very romantic ending.

- kaybee

July 11, 2008 at 5:03pm

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There Will be Blood, Citizen Kane, 2001, La Strada,

- mtwill11

July 11, 2008 at 5:03pm

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The anthology of censored kissing scenes at the end of Cinema Paradiso.

- lalt

July 11, 2008 at 5:05pm

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I disagree about Once Upon a Time in the West. I think it has one of the best OPENINGS ever.

- primwallflow

July 11, 2008 at 5:06pm

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Oh yeah... some good suggestions here... ran, seventh samurai, third man, mullholland drive,

- mtwill11

July 11, 2008 at 5:06pm

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With Rhubs on "The Verdict."

And, yeah, "River Kwai." Many films include explosions--sometimes several. If I recall, there's an explosion in this movie, too.

- williamyard

July 11, 2008 at 5:08pm

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Unforgiven is an inspired recall, all.   "Yeah, I've killed women and children.  I've killed just about anything that's walked or crawled on the face of the earth.  And I'm here to kill you, Little Bill".  The amazing thing is the movie was about how hard it was to kill people, and you feel it, but when Clint goes all kill-crazy again...you get excited.  Amazing.  

"'Deserve's got nothing to do with it"

- boneill

July 11, 2008 at 5:15pm

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Rhubs: I hated the movie for a different reason: it changed the ending to Mallamud's book 180 degrees!  (I don't want to completely spoil the book for anyone who hasn't read it -- it's terrific)

- Lymon1

July 11, 2008 at 5:25pm

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little late for this I know but Looking for Mr. Goodbar had a great ending, the beating of her heat dwindling down with the camera blinking out, pretty cool.

And Karen Blacks's trilogy of terror (the one with the doll). I was like 11 when I saw it, freaked me out for years.

And Shattered with Tom Berenger (yeah, implausible as hell,but enjoyable nonetheless)

I am not saying these are the best, just some other ones that had good endings.

- blackton

July 11, 2008 at 5:38pm

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Drdannyu, you're not alone on American Beauty.

For Hitchcock films, yeah, Vertigo (probably my favorite Hitchcock movie overall), and also the highly underrated Spellbound.  I actually didn't like the ending of Psycho.  Dramatic, yes, but a little to deus ex machina in my opinion, rather than something that ties everything together in a way that you felt you *could* have seen a la the Sixth Sense or the Usual Suspects (actually, in the latter case, I did see it coming).  

Also, I find the inclusion of Breakfast at Tiffany's on the original list dumbfounding.  Did I see the same movie they did?

- AlanSP

July 11, 2008 at 5:38pm

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Last two shots in Psycho are really great:  Bates, conspicuously not hurting a fly, and the pulling of Marion's car out of the swamp.

Speaking of Hitchcock, what about the end of North by Northwest?  Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint are newlyweds on a train that, in the last shot (spoiler alert) enters a tunnel.

I would also like to cast a vote for the alternate ending to Casablanca, as revealed in a Simpsons episode:  After the plane takes off, Hitler pops out of Sam's piano, Ingrid Bergman parachutes down, landing on top of the piano killing Hitler, the pair light their cigarettes, and Sam starts playing "Heart and Soul" which turns into the wedding bells as the happy couple leaves the church under the title, "The End ?"  Brilliant.

Also, Passion of the Christ.  Did *not* see that coming....

- jhildner

July 11, 2008 at 5:40pm

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Am I the only one who loves the ending of Field of Dreams?

"Hey, Dad. You wanna have a catch?"

"I'd like that."

Cue the cars lighting up Iowa.

- adamvaught

July 11, 2008 at 5:44pm

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Agree on the Verdict:  Never did a movie sell one man's redemption so well, nor (spoiler alert) has a movie every paid so much for a happy ending.  That movie may be the finest moment for everyone involved with it -- Lumet, Mamet, Newman.

- jhildner

July 11, 2008 at 5:47pm

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I can't even think about this question or topic, because my hatred for Shawshank Redemption is once again blotting out all else like a fat dark thundercloud.

But I can at least agree with Third Man, and offer this tidbit, gleaned from Joseph Cotten's autobiography [gosh he was dreamy]: the reason he hurls his cigarette down is because he was standing there with no idea when the take would end and just got very frustrated. Which makes it no less perfect, of course.

- psantillana

July 11, 2008 at 5:54pm

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I'd go for bleak - Sand Pebles.

- hrlngrv

July 11, 2008 at 6:03pm

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Ok, Taxi driver, the shot of him adjusting the rearview mirror like that, was pretty fab.

I also like Gone With THe Wind, and resent that everyone thinks it ends with Gable's line, when it really ends with Scarlett's fist in the air. She's going to get him back, you know.

Galaxy Quest. Groundhog Day.

I second Double Indemnity and Casablanca.

It Happened One Night - very very sweet.

I think I'm thinking more of last shots/scenes than storywise how they tie it up. That's how THird Man shoots up the list, anyway.

- psantillana

July 11, 2008 at 6:04pm

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ANd the '78 Bodysnatchers - yes yes yes! DANG!

Also good - Night of the Living Dead, if it's the helicopter shot I'm thinking of.

- psantillana

July 11, 2008 at 6:06pm

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I would go with Chinatown.  Just awesome and absolutely not what I was expecting.

I think Double Indemnity's ending is good, too, but (and I know it's off topic), the book is much more disturbing (and in my mind that makes it better...just for the record)

Anyone for Paths of Glory?    

- jhunger

July 11, 2008 at 6:11pm

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The Graduate.

- stgla

July 11, 2008 at 6:15pm

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Yeah, prendergast and psantillana, the '78 Body Snatchers.

I've had business a few times inside the S.F. Department of Public Health building (the one where Donald Sutherland works in the film), as recently as 2005, and every time I go near the place it creeps the hell out of me. I expect somebody to turn, point at me, and utter one of those horrific screeches.

I need to switch to decaf, maybe.

- williamyard

July 11, 2008 at 6:17pm

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Cars the Movies has the best credits roll.

- stgla

July 11, 2008 at 6:18pm

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First, I don't know what planet you're from, Isaac, but the absurdly-overrated "Memento" was far from uderrated.

- kevincollins

July 11, 2008 at 6:19pm

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"And I wondered if a memory is something you have, or something you've lost."

Another Woman.  It doesn't have the greatest critical rep for some reason, but Gena Rowlands, Gene Hackman, Ian Holm, Martha Plimpton -- yes, please.  It's my fav Woody Allen, one of my fav movies, period.

- guptatomic1

July 11, 2008 at 6:23pm

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And if people wanna talk HItchcock -- the Birds, duh...

- guptatomic1

July 11, 2008 at 6:24pm

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psantillana wrote:

"...my hatred for Shawshank Redemption..."

Oh, dear. Um [moving a bit further away from psantillana]...what else do you hate? Puppies? Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? The fall of the Berlin Wall? Sunsets over the Pacific with wind chimes tinkling in a gentle warm breeze?

[whispering into walkie-talkie] Security! We've got a Code 29 in progress...The Plank...Roger that.

Don't go, psantillana! Stay here for a while! Keep writing! Take your time!

- williamyard

July 11, 2008 at 6:28pm

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Greatest movie ending? That [would be] Chinatown, Jake.

- teplukhin2you

July 11, 2008 at 6:29pm

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Nice topic....I'll toss in Grand Illusion, Ride the High Country and because I'm a sap, The Sandlot. And any male over the age of 45 who says he doesn't choke up at the end of Field of Dreams is either a liar, a University of Chicago economics professor or French.

- schrek2000

July 11, 2008 at 6:39pm

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I gotta go with Lymon1 here.  Stunned is the word at the end of "The Rapture".  Though there was one line it that I liked, towards the end, "who will forgive God?"  "Christopher Hitchens", I almost blurted out.

I don't know why no one mentioned "The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover."  Pretty gross ending, but man, do you ever remember it.

I also thought that the ending of "The Last Tango in Paris" was very strong as well.  Did not like the movie, and could't touch butter for weeks after seeing it, but the last line had far more of an impact than, say, Butch Cassidy.

As for The Empire Strikes Back, I think there were two movies in one: James Earl Jones intoning majestically, "Luke, I am your father."  Great scene.  Then Mark Hamill hamming it up, "Noawooooo!!!!!"  Awful.

But the most memorable ending of all has to be the last four minutes of "My Mother's Castle" (Le Chateau de ma Mêre), one of the Pagnol movies.  After the hearse, came the death of Papillon - I've never been so emotionally shocked by any movie.

- icarusr

July 11, 2008 at 6:47pm

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I may be a bit late to this thread, but I needed to add my two-cents:  Pan's Labyrinth.  You know its coming (as it was shown, in a way, in the beginning), but my goodness, that is a strong finish to a glorious film.  Likewise, the ending of Children of Men is no surprise, but Clive Owen was so good throughout the film that the end is wrenching.

- kgrant1054

July 11, 2008 at 6:53pm

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jhunger: Paths of Glory is a great movie, but I am not sure that it had the best ending.  As for war movies, I think River Kwai packs the biggest punch, in terms of endings.  "What have I done?" - and the thing is, you don't know if he falls or he throws himself on the fuse.  I can't think of another war movie that ended so well.

Well, there is "Final Countdown", and a surprise ending there, but it was more of a Sci Fi movie ...

And while we're on military movies (well, I am), I think the speech of the President in "Seven Days in May" is pretty powerful.  Too bad Cheney never learned its import ...

I wonder why no one has mentioned "Hamlet" ;-) I mean, it did not say best ORIGINAL ending ...

- icarusr

July 11, 2008 at 6:53pm

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schrek2000: Re Field of Dreams, you are absolutely right.  There was a group of eight who saw it when it first came out: four guys and our dates.  Right at the moment that Costner asked his dad to play catch, all of the guys started sniffling and the women started chuckling.  Leaving the theatre, the women kept asking "what, what was so special about playing catch?"  The guys, all in our early twenties at the time, shuffled our feet, looked at each other, and decided that there is no point explaining.  Almost twenty years later, I cannot see the movie, and that scene, without choking up.

- icarusr

July 11, 2008 at 6:57pm

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I'd give anything to play catch with Dad one more time...oh shit...something in my eye...

- williamyard

July 11, 2008 at 7:10pm

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Icarusr: just wondering why you felt the ending to Paths of Glory was a letdown.  

I thought it was pretty powerful when the soldiers went from jeering the young woman to singing along with her.  That they were able to identify with the "enemy" and realized the others' humanity.  And they come to this understanding just before being sent back out to battle.  

But I'm with you on River Kwai...it's been a while since I've seen it, but it's great.  

- jhunger

July 11, 2008 at 7:21pm

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kgrant - I'm with you on Pan's Labyrinth. One of my all-time favorite movies with a very powerful ending. As for pure shock value - how 'bout The Departed?

- chmclean

July 11, 2008 at 7:58pm

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jhunger: not that the ending was a letdown - I meant, not the best ending as in not the best relative to other endings. :-) But it had a pretty good ending for the movie.  It would also be because I was depressed for a whole week after I read the book (before seeing the movie) and that might have affected my judgement of the ending ...

- icarusr

July 11, 2008 at 8:53pm

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Memorable ending - "Fail Safe" , the serious cousin of "Dr. Stangelove".  The screeching as the  hot line connection to Moscow melts, then the quiick flashes of  scenes of New York life, followed by the blank screen were exceedingly chilling.  

- dubyadoubte

July 11, 2008 at 9:11pm

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Sorry I haven't taken the time to read all the comments (I'll get around to it), but can't resist putting in my two cents' worth on this one. The greatest movie ending is that of Peter Weir's "Gallipoli". It's a minimalist classic. The kid dropping his weapon and running all out, straight toward the Turkish lines. Then, the shortest possible burst of machine-gun fire-- tat-tat-tat. The screen freezes with the kid in full run. Heart-breaking and beautiful.

- wmsberry

July 11, 2008 at 9:43pm

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What about the ending to Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights."  Quite unlike what anyone in Hollywood today is capable of producing - both because of the sheer wonderful acting by Chaplin himself, but also the manner in which it stays true to life and reflects that - for most people - the reality of the world means a conclusion not always tieing everything up in a nice happy sitcom ribbon.

- lneubauer

July 11, 2008 at 9:58pm

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Somebody mentioned Slacker, which has probably THREEof my favorite endings ever: old guy wandering around talking into a dictaphone about life, crazy guy driving a van with bull horn on the top, talking about end times, and crazy hippies driving around the Texas hills with a super 8 camera and Mancini-ish music blasting in the background.

The Conversation and Blood Simple also have great endings.

- hewstino

July 11, 2008 at 10:45pm

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Casablanca, of course (though if I recall rightly, the writers were unsure until the very end whether to send Ingrid off or not, and the ending was shot separately from the rest of the film).  

Chinatown, of course.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the ending of "Glory"?  Which TNR's own Stanley Kauffmann said would be watched as long as there were movies.  "Go get 'em, 54th!"  

- mjhollerich

July 11, 2008 at 11:24pm

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Icarusr:  I see, I see...  fair enough!  

Mjhollerich: I think the line from Glory is "Give 'em hell, 54th!"  

I showed that movie to all of my history classes two years ago...  Good stuff.  

- jhunger

July 12, 2008 at 12:24am

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"Unforgiven" and "The Professionals"

- three putt

July 12, 2008 at 1:42am

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Vertigo.

Days of Heaven - sometimes an anticlimactic ending is right.

You all have given me a good list of films to watch again.

- MartyCinc

July 12, 2008 at 2:40am

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I love "Before Sunset" and also think "Roman Holiday" is pretty perfect.

"Hannah and Her Sisters" rounds out my sentimental favorite endings.

Kieslowski's "Three Colors: Red" ending pulls together the three films wonderfully.

"The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" and "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days" both seem about the best endings I could imagine.

And for more fun, the worst ever has to be "Niagara", the ending turned the movie into a joke for my wife and me, even though the rest of it seemed redeemable.

- sinatras

July 12, 2008 at 3:37am

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i'd recommend "cache" (english title: "hidden") for those who like surprising endings.  also, it's a great film.

- bradigan

July 12, 2008 at 5:17am

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Ten Good Endings:

George Roy Hill's "Slaughterhouse-Five", Lindsay Anderson's "O Lucky Man!", George Sluizer's "The Vanishing" (bhuddabop, nice pick), John Frankenheimer's "Seven Days in May", Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights", Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", Stanley Kramer's "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", Kevin Costner's "Dances With Wolves", Alfred Hitchcock's "North By Northwest", and Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility".

- fougasseu

July 12, 2008 at 9:07am

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Didn't Halloween basically invent the "ah, thank goodness the psycho killer is dead . . . I can't believe we surv - OH CRAP! THERE HE IS AGAIN!" trope?  Surely that deserves some kind of honorable mention.  Also on the horror movie tip: Evil Dead II and Saw I.  

- newdex

July 12, 2008 at 10:38am

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humm,

as a Johnny come Lately to this thread, I would list these endings as my all time favorites:

A battered Terry Malloy walking through the gauntlet to face down Johnny Friendly and his hoods...

Norman Bates sitting and wrapped up with that blanket given to him by Ted Baxter and allowing that fly to live...

Maria covering Tony's body at the end of West Side Story...

Sinatra reading Congressional Medal of Honor Citations in The Manchurian Candidate..

The Cary Grant phallic train entering the Eva Marie tunnel and the end of North By Northwest...

A hollowed out Michael Corleone sitting alone at the end of Godfather II...

Rosebud burning at the end of Citizen Kane....

and the best recent ending I can cite was Paul Giamatti's police captain realizing the switch at the end of The Illusionist...

- thejauntyboulevardier

July 12, 2008 at 11:40am

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oh gosh, how could I forget....

Bogey and Claude Rains walking off into the rain soaked distance in Casablanca...

the ending with Redford and Babs in the Way We Were...

Norma Desmond walking down the staircase in Sunset Boulevard...

Roddy McDowell's father dying in the mine in How Green Was My Valley...

Montgomery Clift's George Eastman character walking to the electric chair in A Place in the Sun....

Cary Grant driving away with Ingrid Bergman and leaving a nazified Claude Rains to his doom in Notorious...

The mirror refracted image of the front row Nazi soldiers in Caberet...

The double switch in The Sting....

The mansion (Mandalay?) burned to the ground with the crazed Dame Judith Anderson in it in Rebecca....

- thejauntyboulevardier

July 12, 2008 at 11:49am

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The ending of the Godfather Part 11: one of the four greatest movies ever made.

- basman

July 12, 2008 at 12:03pm

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This is what I love about the TNR Blogs.  Something as silly as movie endings and everyone is chiming in with their favs.

My personal favorite is Pulp Fiction, I just love that speech.

Godfather is a close second.

But I have to take a second and defend Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid.  Definately in the top 10 if not the best movie ever made.  The ending was great because it represented the end of Westerns in Hollywood.  Hard to beleive that moview was made in 1969.

Plus you missed the chance to link to the funniest scene in movie history ever:

    www.youtube.com/watch

I just watched this with my kids on Youtube and they giggled like I did 40 years ago.

- CRS9TNR

July 12, 2008 at 12:32pm

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It's pretty much impossible to add something new at the end of such a list--I thought I was going to be able to until jauntyboulevardier got the On the Waterfront reference in (backed by one of Leonard Bernstein's more effective bits of composition, imho).  Nice catch on The Rapture, too, by many above.  And I am compelled to echo Alex Massie--The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance needs to be mentioned.  On the quiet, poignant side, I'd put in a word for Eight Men Out.  

- cspencef

July 12, 2008 at 1:20pm

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Dittos on Red and Blood Simple.

- jhildner

July 12, 2008 at 1:25pm

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CRS9TNR: thanks for the gem.  I'm marking papers and this certainly was a welcome diversion.

Cookie: The openning and the closing of Rebecca were classics: "Last night, I dreamt I was in Manderlay again."  And yes, Dame Judith's crazed Mrs. Danvers going down in flames was wonderful.  It's too bad that the remake, with the glorious Diana Rigg, could not capture the spookiness of the original.

And of course Norma Desmond - I had forgotten about that.

Talking about marking papers ... I use the last scene in "Judgment at Nuremberg" as a teaching aid for my law students: the sanctity of law, and the importance of all actors in the legal processes to pay close attention to their higher duties.

Ernst Janning: Judge Haywood... the reason I asked you to come: Those people, those millions of people... I never knew it would come to that. You *must* believe it, *You must* believe it!

Judge Dan Haywood: Herr Janning, it "came to that" the *first time* you sentenced a man to death you *knew* to be innocent.

A lesson we all need to learn from time to time.

- icarusr

July 12, 2008 at 1:35pm

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CRS9RTNR,

Yes, Judgment is a Kramer classic. The most compelling scenes in the movie are, as you mentioned, the comprised Judge Janning pleading for redemption from Judge Dan, played so well by Spencer Tracy...

the scene when Maxmillian Schell's German defense lawyer is badgering the Judy Garland character and then, in the background, you see Lancaster's Janning, rising to speak for the first time...

and the Montgomery Clift sequence as the Nazi castrated Jew is truly an acting masterpiece. I showed that movie and particularly that scene to my son, who is very involved in his teen theater, and he was mesmerized. Often, he will watch that scene, just that scene, to inspire himself as he prepares for his roles. And since my sons are being raised as Jews, which is my wife's faith, they are compelled by the history and significance of the entire movie...

A few others...

the final scene is From Here to Eternity when the two female leads, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed, toss the flowers off the ship....

The final scene when Frank Sinatra is shot down trying to catch the train in Von Ryan's Express...

though it is not the final scene, the hall of mirrors scene is The Lady from Shanghai, when a menacing Everett Sloane is all the place is a classic...

Not a final scene, but close to it: The scene when Alan Arkin jumps out at a blinded Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark.  I remember my best friend, who had to pee but was trying to wait until the movie ended, wet his pants in the theater during that scene...

The Butch and Sundance final scene is classic, I agree.

The final scene is Judy Garland's Star is Born, as she announces that she "is Mrs. Norman Maine".  

And the final scene of Twelve Angry Men, when the Henry Fonda character walks down the steps of the Hall of Justice to a new evening....

- thejauntyboulevardier

July 12, 2008 at 2:35pm

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you can't stop me now....

the broken clock final scene in Laura...

Yes, Cody Jarrett's "Lookee at me ma! I'm on top of the world" implosion at the end of White Heat,

Sam Spade, walking the Falcon down the stairs, while Brigit O'Shawnessy goes down the elevator, both going to hell, Sam just slower than Brigit, but eventually, they'll both get there...

the end of Spartacus, with Spartacus on the cross, watching his son as he is taken away by the Jean Simmons character....

Sir tearing up his job engineer's job confirmation at the end of To Sir With Love...

the wedding shot of the guys in Diner....

the final scene of Double Indemnity as Walter can't light is match any longer and Keyes does it for him, after he has called the police...

the scene of Norma Shearer tossing away her pride and going to her unseen husband in The Women...

Marty running off to propose to his "dog" girlfriend in Marty...

There are just too many...

- thejauntyboulevardier

July 12, 2008 at 2:50pm

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I always loved Kieslowski's "Trois couleurs : Bleu" ending... And Fellini's "La Dolce Vita." Both are a bit melancholy and ambiguous, but that's kind of the beauty of them. They're sort of the emotional equivalent of "Mein Führer! I can walk!"

- orkeny

July 12, 2008 at 3:11pm

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You've all helped pad my netflix queue.

Williamyard, I love puppies and sunsets and all that, but what else do I hate, in addition to Shawshank Redemption? Home Alone, Pretty Woman, and Short Cuts, to name three more that everybody else loves.

But -! I bawled at Field of Dreams, so there.

Now it's time for worst endings ever, and I throw School Daze into the ring - top that!

- psantillana

July 12, 2008 at 3:20pm

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One more, I can't let go.

I am surprised that 'A Few Good Men' didn't make the top 20.  There's not a lot of subtlty in these picks, but AFGM is really one of the best written movies ever made.

I love the ending where the two Marines get it.  They not guilty, but they are not innocent, which is really hard to pull off.

But when they salute Tom Cruise, the movie comes full circle.  Tom Cruise (& the rest of us) finally get Honor, Code and Loyalty.

But that is just an excuse to link to the best dramatic scene ever.

www.youtube.com/watch

- CRS9TNR

July 12, 2008 at 3:27pm

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Ok back to good endings:

Lost in Translation - perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect.

- psantillana

July 12, 2008 at 3:29pm

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CRS9TNR: I confess, I never saw AFGM.  I'm allergic to Tom Cruise.  And that line, "You can't handle the truth" - makes me gag each time, even if it is one of bext parodyable lines in movie history.

Blackie, I meant to second your Mr. Goodbar note.  I did not like the movie at all, but as for endings, a compelling and unforgettable one, indeed.

I know, it is the end of the thread - but how about a WORST ENDING EVER?  My five, in descending order:

5. Spiderman III

4. Any Star Trek movie

3. "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull"

2. "Return of the Jedi"

1. "Through the Olive Grove", praised by many critics as a masterful and enigmatic long-shot, it is one of the most pointless five minutes in movie history.

- icarusr

July 12, 2008 at 4:06pm

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I liked the ending to *a pure formality* with roman polanski.

I'll go with a lot of posters who mentioned *the verdict.* When i saw it for the first time, i was sure newman was going to pick up the phone.

I agree with whoever it was that chose *once upon a time in the west*  If we were talking about greatest opening scenes, the first 10 minutes of that would win hands down.

*Jagged edge* had a good ending.

- wldctfan142

July 12, 2008 at 4:36pm

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AlanSP wondered what it would have been like to see The Sixth Sense without knowing the ending. I did. The movie has been vaguely confusing, the ring hits the floor, and everything becomes clear. Brilliant direction and manipulation of the audience.

(On the subject of jewelry dropping, although I hated Titanic, I liked that scene. If you have truly loved, and lived for awhile, it makes perfect sense.)

And, while I hate to play the aged prole here, if we're talking about audience manipulation, credit must be given to George Lucas for Star Wars when it first opened. Although it is difficult for young viewers to understand, Han Solo was portrayed as a jerk, and you had no trouble believing that he took the money and ran, abandoning the rebellion. When the Millennium Falcon shows up at the end, movie audiences burst into applause, then laughed at themselves for having been taken in by such a thing in 1977.

- kpidcoc

July 12, 2008 at 4:39pm

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Oh, icarusr, you crossed the line there. There are some bad Star Trek movies, and the bad ones have endings as bad as the rest of the movie, but Star Treks II and III have terrific endings. "Wrath of Khan" is an actual, honest-to-goodness good ending to a good movie, in which the aging admiral, having faced his own mortality for the first time, answers the question the entire script has been posing. "I feel young." "Search for Spock" lacks the deeper aesthetic quality of its predecessor, but Nimoy's understated performance salvages the entire movie from the bathos it attempts to build to. "Jim. Your name is Jim." Good stuff.

But on to bad endings we can probably agree on:

"Arlington Road." If you didn't know exactly how the "surprise" ending would work out by the twentieth minute of the movie, you're probably suffering from a severe mental handicap.

"Shining Through." Want to know how to avoid being killed by an army of Nazis firing fully automatic assault rifles at you while you are unarmed? Step 1: Carry Melanie Griffith. Step 2: Take one step across the Swiss border. Because, according to "Shining Through," if you're carrying Melanie Griffith as you stumble slowly along in a perfectly straight line, Nazi gunmen cannot bring you down no matter how many hundreds of bullets they fire. And the moment you set one foot on the other side of the Swiss border, the Nazis will stop shooting, and whatsmore they will cause any bullets they have already fired to return to German soil, because Nazis are all about respecting the diplomatic niceties.

For a more through skewering, go to the 5:22 mark on this video of Siskel & Ebert's list of the worst movies of 1992:

www.youtube.com/watch

- rhubarbs

July 12, 2008 at 5:05pm

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Re Tom Cruise: Whenever I hear his name, I think about the remark an old west side buddy of mine made to me. He works with catering and has done many, many movies. His company worked on Lestat and one late night at Canters on Fairfax, I asked him why that movie sucked so badly and he said...

Ken, there is an old adage: Movies can only have one Queen.  That one had two and it showed....

- thejauntyboulevardier

July 12, 2008 at 5:45pm

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Rhubarbs, icarusr,

What about the ending to Star Trek: First Contact? The Vulcans end up being who we made first contact with was a nice little twist. It's not an all-time movie ending, but it was pretty damn good.

And since icarusr brought up Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's craptastic ending, I would say Raiders and the Last Crusade make up for it with great endings. The ark being boxed up and hauled off to the endless warehouse. "We named the dog 'Indiana'" and riding off into the sunset. Good stuff.  

- adamvaught

July 12, 2008 at 7:02pm

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Rhubarbs: you're right of course about Khan; and I agree that the ending of "In Search of Spock" was poignant.  But you gotta give me the rest.  Generations?  Die, Kirk, already.  Nemesis took the Oedipal impulse to a whole new level.  And what about Spock's Long Lost Brother wrestling with God?  I guess this is what happens when soap opera writers are given the Old Testament for inspiration.

Loved the Siskel and Ebert segment - I never saw the movie, as I object in principle to Melanie Griffith and Michael Douglas in any movie, but the Apple Strudel scene was awesome!

- icarusr

July 12, 2008 at 7:15pm

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Adam: the movie sucked so much that no ending could have redeemed it.  The Queen of the Borg?  Honestly.  And First Contact around a camp-fire?  I'm willing to concede "your name is Jim", but I think the Vulcan handshake was too much for me.

- icarusr

July 12, 2008 at 7:21pm

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What a nice thread. We take our turns with intelligence and grace.

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Chief Bromden rolls away the stone, tosses it through the window, and escapes with McMurphy cradled lovingly in his strong, quiet arms, a mobile Pieta, as the Apostles (that great ensemble: Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, et al.) stare into the dark in their beds, giggling), and all the while Jack Nitzsche's eerie, ethereal music creeps around like the fog off the Pacific.

- williamyard

July 12, 2008 at 7:39pm

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Oh, and, um, Ripley? Don't worry: you're in the escape pod. You're safe now.

- williamyard

July 12, 2008 at 7:44pm

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Williamyard: Actually, I don't think that the Chief takes McMurphy with him when he escapes the hospital.  That is, if I remember correctly...  

But I would like to replace my original argument for "Chinatown" as number 1 with "Cuckoo's Nest".  It totally slipped my mind when I first posted, but it's a great ending and a sentimental favorite for me to boot.

I'm saddened, though, that I had no takers for "Paths of Glory"...  Alas.   Everyone on here should make it the next movie they rent!  You'll see...  

- jhunger

July 12, 2008 at 8:18pm

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YES! Alien. Great ending.

- hemlock41

July 12, 2008 at 8:23pm

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adam, I totally loved the ending of "First Contact," in a way that only a deeply geeky sci-fi fan could.  I felt a rush of affection for Vulcans.

- drdannyu

July 12, 2008 at 8:27pm

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Oh, jhunger, I think you're right about the ending--I stand corrected. Still a great one, though, even if years later I try to do the director's job for him.

- williamyard

July 12, 2008 at 8:38pm

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Mr. Yard: not that your vision would not have been a good one...

I screened Cuckoo's for the high school psych class I was teaching last year.  It's kinda inappropriate for that setting, but the kids loved it, even if the boss didn't...  Whoops.  

- jhunger

July 12, 2008 at 8:55pm

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a bad ending turned great:

Matrix Reloaded, when the words "to be concluded" go up, and - in a packed theater - some guy in the back instantly bellows, at the top of his lungs, "BULLSH1T!!"

- psantillana

July 12, 2008 at 8:55pm

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In the first-shall-be-last-and-last-shall-be-first category I nominate "Betrayal."  Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley, and Patricia Hodge throwing Harold Pinter dialogue at each other like radioactive lawn darts. The movie ends at the beginning of the story, with Irons confessing his abject love for Hodge, his best friend Kingsley's wife. We know it's coming yet we're powerless to stop it.

For pure catharsis, you can't beat "Howard the Duck," whose ending signified that the movie was indeed over and we the audience were in fact still alive to fight another day. The credits roll like one's anus snapping shut after a particularly satisfying and straightforward bowel movement following a nasty bout with constipation.

- williamyard

July 12, 2008 at 9:07pm

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I love you guys.

Cuckoo's Nest was great amd the ending with that cast was fantastic.

Loved the Siskel & Ebert Youtube.  With you guys I forgot how good, well done criticism can be enjoyable.  I'll be checking out the Siskel & Ebert Best/Worst shows the rest of the weekend.

- CRS9TNR

July 12, 2008 at 9:11pm

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Way off topic, but the following is great, and I figured people might see it on this thread.

www.vimeo.com/1211060

- adamvaught

July 12, 2008 at 9:36pm

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icarsur,

Agree to disagree, my friend; I'm with Dan. And the Borg Queen was great.

yard,

I now want a movie poster of Howard the Duck with your review printed on it.

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the end of The Money Pit. You know, when Walter's dad buys the house from the lady who Walter bought his house from. No one? Really? Well I liked it.  

- adamvaught

July 12, 2008 at 9:49pm

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jhunger,

Saw Paths of Glory for the first time last year.  Great movie, but I wouldn't put the ending in particular among the all-time greats.  As an aside, I'm still amazed by the degree of resemblance between Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas.

Onto worst movie endings: Highlander 2 (pretty much an automatic inclusion for me on a "worst [feature of movie]" list), Vanilla Sky, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (although I love the rest of the movie).

- AlanSP

July 12, 2008 at 10:15pm

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adam,

I awoke today at 4 a.m. and as a dream receded, I foolishly picked the scabs from some old, deep wounds and then could not fall back asleep. The day has been a grumbling slog. Matt's dancing video was just the medicine I needed. Thank you.

- Bill

- williamyard

July 12, 2008 at 10:25pm

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Oh, I agree with CRS9TNR on A Few Good Men, and I'll throw out Big Fish and The Lion in Winter as last minute inclusions.

- AlanSP

July 12, 2008 at 10:28pm

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Alan: I have watched The Lion in Winter about fifty times, and every time, I smile at the very last scene.  "You think there is any chance of it?", the way Peter O'Toole cries that out, with joy, as a smiling Hepburn is carried away by her jailers ... pure magic.  

adamvaught: I see your Monty Pit and raise you with "Johnny Be Good" and "Hollywood Shuffle". (Hey, if you are going to torture me with the memories of two hours of my young life lost to that disaster, why shouldn't I return the favour?)  And I'll throw in Joe and the Volcano for good measure.

Bill: as usual, a gem - although, I confess, I never saw Howard the Duck.  I had the same feeling recently watching "The Parallax View" for the first time in twenty-five years.  Like a train crash in slow mo, you know it's coming, you hope it won't happen, and then the final panel reads the statement and you hear yourself groan, in pain and contentment, for it's over ....

- icarusr

July 12, 2008 at 10:59pm

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Adam: just go through Matt - thanks a million for the link.  It was awesome!  I was transfixed on the video - the evident energy, joy, life that he transmits!  Just amazing.  Thanks

R

- icarusr

July 12, 2008 at 11:11pm

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Bill and icarusr,

I’m so glad you enjoyed the video; it was one I had to share. My dad forwarded the link to me in an email titled “This will make you smile.” Pops certainly has a gift for understatement.

If everyone took five minutes to watch Matt’s video, the world would be a better place. Of course, Matt’s video reminds us the world is already a pretty great place.

- adamvaught

July 12, 2008 at 11:40pm

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I'll go see the video, but I'm passing these endings along from the bf:

Audition

Dogville

Heist

Pulp Fiction

Rosetta

Sleepaway Camp

The Machinist

He wanted so badly to tell me the ending to Rosetta but I plugged my ears and started going "blah blah blah" - in the restaurant, no less. So I'm not coming back to this just in case you all want to blab it. But I'm going to watch the Matt video now...

- psantillana

July 13, 2008 at 2:51am

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Three other great ones: probably have been metioned:

The Deer Hunter

Bridge On The River Kwai

Letters From Iwo Jima

And a few runner ups that spring  randomly to  mind and I don't think mentioned: The Hustler; Gone Baby Gone; A Man For All Seasons; La Strada; Manhattan.; ride The High Country; On The Waterfront...

There is really no end to this.

- basman

July 13, 2008 at 11:11am

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I'm a bit late weighing in on the London Times 's befuddlingly weak list of best movie endings

- Anonymous

July 14, 2008 at 11:08am

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Before this past weekend, I'd have had Sixth Sense on the list, but I saw it again and was disappointed to find that for me, the movie hasn't stood the test of time or repeat viewings.  In fact, I was shocked to find that the ham-handedness so painfully evident in Shyamalan's later films, seems to have been there all along.

I would nominate "Little Big Man" for the list.  A brilliant film that seems to have fallen into the cracks somehow.  Still to my mind one of Dustin Hoffman's better roles.  Chief Dan George was nominated in Best Supporting category for his role (and I think should have won).

Marathon Man

Heat

The Return (Russian).  

Everything Is Illuminated

- zaiquiri

July 14, 2008 at 12:46pm

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Oh, good God.  Somebody mentioned "Sleepaway Camp"??  I am still totally creeped out by that movie ending.  

- cspencef

July 15, 2008 at 6:55pm

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schrek2000 and basman, I totally agree about Ride the High Country -- I'd forgotten about that ending.

And Rhubarbs, you're damn right about Star Trek II.

- prendergast

July 22, 2008 at 11:58am

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